Centre men split at Titan Classic

The Centre College men's soccer team earned a split of its games at the Titan Classic in Bloomington, Ill., but coach Jeb Burch is unsure of exactly what he has to look forward to this season.

The Colonels defeated host Illinois Wesleyan 3-0 Friday in a game that caused Burch to call his team dynamic, but Centre turned around 24 hours later and lost 2-0 to Millikin.

"We very much look to be a Jekyll-and-Hyde type of team," Burch said. "They played outstanding (Friday) but did not come back out to play the same way (Saturday). We have no idea what type of team we're going to see."

Centre was outshot 15-10 by Millikin Saturday, but had a 6-1 edge on corner kicks. Jacob Sither had four saves in the game. Millikin had 29 fouls to Centre's 11.

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Both Millikin goals came in the second half.

Senior David Hewitt had two goals and an assist in the win over Illinois Wesleyan, and Burch said Hewitt played a "great game."

Then again, Burch was overflowing with praise for his entire team after the game.

"I don't remember camaraderie like this and everyone's getting along very well," Burch said. "This team really looks pretty dynamic with the passing and working through the system of play. This was just a very good game for us."

Cliff Wright scored Centre's other goal, and Trey Janes and Rhodes Thompson each had an assist.

Sither again had four goals for Centre, as the Colonels outshot Illinois Wesleyan 22-7. Centre had nine corner kicks to three for IWC.

Women's Soccer

At Danville, a goal off a corner kick late near the end of the first half proved to be the difference Saturday as Centre opened its season with a 2-1 victory over Hanover.

Laura Heil, a defender who scored on her only shot last season, directed Lindsay Yeakel's corner kick into the net less than 10 seconds before time expired to give Centre a 2-0 halftime lead.

"It was huge then, and it was absolutely the reason we won the ballgame," Centre coach Gina Nicoletti said.

Nicoletti said the Colonels didn't play well in the second half as they protected their 2-0 lead.

"We were pleased with the outcome of the game, but we were not pleased about our second-half play," she said.

Maggie Ray scored Centre's first goal of the season when she broke through the Hanover defense with 28:49 left in the first half. Yeakel had an assist, giving her assists on both Centre goals.

"We played real well in the first half. We played our system well," Nicoletti said.

Hanover (0-1) cut Centre's lead in half when K.C. Reynolds put a free kick into the net in the 81st minute.

At Louisville, the Centre women won the Chris Jones Invitational at Creason Park and the men finished second in the competition between six schools.

Freshman Eileen Schilling finished second overall with a time of 19 minutes, 35 seconds, and was one of eight Centre girls in the top 20. Coach Lisa Owens said she was thrilled with that performance.

"She had an amazing day, making her debut as a college runner," Owens said. "She ran a very good time considering it was pouring down rain and she was on a very muddy course and a tough course at that."

Centre had 38 points, five better than host Bellarmine.

Kristie Kachler was 10th in 21:20, Lauren Arnold was 11th in 21:27, Abby Winterberg was 13th in 21:48, Tiffany Lousignont was 14th in 21:56, Natalie Postel was 16th in 22:19 and Jackie Walisa was 17th in 22:23.

The men finished 14 points behind Bellarmine, a sharp improvement from their fourth place finish of a year ago.

Eric Hack was fifth in 28:54 and Colin Muehlenkamp was sixth in 29:04. Mark Noll was 13th in 29:32, Jeff Briggs was 14th in 29:35, Anthony Lippert was 15th in 29:39, Andy Newson was 16th in 29:40 and Matt Lally was 22nd in 30:32.

"We have a lot of depth this year," Owens said. "We have some young talent and some very good returning runners. In my seven years here, these are the two best teams I've ever coached, and I expect big things from them."

Volleyball

At Danville, Va., Centre split its first two matches at Averitt on Saturday.

Centre lost to Austin in its opener 30-26, 30-27, 30-28, but regrouped to defeat Roanoke 30-23, 30-26, 28-30, 30-22.

Coach Stephanie Dragan was put off by the fact her team didn't block well.

"We only had four blocks as a team, and that really did disappoint me," Dragan said.

In the Roanoke match, Bulach and Cate Guthrie each had 12 kills. Fryman had 25 digs, Bulach had 19 and Ballinger had 43 assists. Centre did better blocking, as Guthrie, Whitney Faust and Adair Howell each had three blocks. Ellie Exner and Guthrie each had five aces.

Field Hockey

At Danville, Centre started off its season with a 2-0 loss to Denison on Friday.

Denison had 14 penalty corners in the game, and both its goals came off penalty corners.

"It was a very good game," Centre coach Tom Hobbs said. "Everybody contributed and gave a good effort. We do have some things to work on, utilizing space and getting stronger defensively. I feel as though as we get more comfortable playing with each other, we'll have more success offensively and defensively.

Hobbs was pleased with the play of keeper Liz Lowe and defender Whitney Van Vactor, both playing with pulled quadriceps. Lowe had 12 saves, and Van Vactor had a defensive save on a penalty corner in the second half.